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Gibraltar should not be used by Spain as a bargaining chip for Britain’s Brexit negotiations, the chief minister has said, as he insisted that it was perfectly possibly for Britain to leave the EU and Gibraltar to retain open borders.

Fabian Picardo was in New York to put forward Gibraltar’s position at the UN’s Fourth Committee – an annual gathering of “colonised” territories.

And Mr Picardo said that the meeting was more important than ever, given the June decision to leave the European Union.

What I am going to say to him, in this committee, is simple and straightforward: No way, JoseFabian Picardo

“There is absolutely no chance that Gibraltar is going to be bartering its British sovereignty, in exchange for continued access to the European Single Market or any one of the other advantages we enjoy as members of the European Union.

“So what I am going to say to him, in this committee, is simple and straightforward: No way, Jose.”

Every day 12,000 people cross the border from Spain to work in Gibraltar – over half of their workforce. All have friends and relatives living on one side or the other; moving freely across the thin strip of land that separates Spain from The Rock is a way of life.

A polling station in Gibraltar - where 96 per cent voted remainCredit:
AFP

“You say to a Gibraltarian, in the context of our economy, immigration – and they think: ‘essential,’” he noted.

“You say it to someone in the United Kingdom, and they think: ‘That’s what made me vote to leave the European Union.’”

Mr Picardo said there was no movement for independence; Gibraltar has been British for 312 years, and its residents are resolutely British – sharing culture, education and attitudes.

“When you look at what is happening today in Spain – the depths of corruption, the problems of their political system – you don’t see that in the British system,” explained Mr Picardo – who describes the current Spanish foreign minister as “the most belligerent since Franco’s time.”

The RockCredit:
AFP

He continued: “You see people hanging onto their jobs with no embarrassment, who would have gone at the first hint of a suggestion that they might be involved in that business, on the front page of a British newspaper.

“I don’t think the Gibraltarians want to think about a future where we are not British.”

Gibraltarians and Spaniards crossed the border for centuries before the formation of the EU, he argued; the withdrawal from it should not need to alter that.

And the chief minister, in the role since 2011, said he was reassured by meetings at the Conservative Party conference, in Birmingham last month. Liam Fox and Theresa May, he insisted, were aware of their concerns.

Even Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, understood their plight.

I think it is true to say the European Union has fallen out of love with its citizens, and the citizens have fallen out of love with the EUFabian Picardo

“Boris Johnson and I had different positions on the EU referendum, but we have the same position regarding Gibraltar,” he said.

“That is: that nothing has changed regarding the government’s commitment to Gibraltar.

“He wrote in 2013 in clear and trenchant terms what the position would be.

“I didn’t detect that he had shifted 1mm in his views since then.”

Mr Picardo is now in regular contact with his Northern Irish counterparts, who find themselves in the same situation – having voted overwhelmingly Remain. He is confident that borders between both territories and their EU neighbours can remain open, despite Brexit.

Spain, he said, would be foolish to impose restrictions: Gibraltar is the second largest employer in Andalucia, after the regional Andalucian government, and – in an area with 25 per cent unemployment – a vital source of jobs. Gibraltar has negligible unemployment.

Madrid’s politicians are still struggling to form a government, after elections last year failed to give any party a strong enough mandate to rule. Mr Picardo argues that Spanish aggression only serves to harm Spain itself.

He refuses to go into detail about his negotiations with London – only to say that he is confident Gibraltar’s interests are being listened to.

But of equal interest to him are the current negotiations going on within the rest of Europe.

“I think Europe has finally understood that the United Kingdom is deadly serious about some of the excesses the European Union has represented,” he said.

The pound has plummeted since BrexitCredit:
AFP

“I think there is a recalibration of the relationship that the UK will have with the European Union.

“What that means in my view is not yet clear.

“But what it does mean is that the United Kingdom will not stay a part of the club, if the club stays the same way it is today.”

Does that mean he believes Britain might not leave after all?

A barrister by trade, Mr Picardo chose his words carefully.

“The ray of hope that I have seen is the remarks by Candidate Sarkozy in the French general election,” he replied.

“He said that he too believes it has gone too far, in some respects, and needs to recast itself.

“I’ve seen him say that his first act, if he wins, would be to go to Berlin to agree a new treaty with Chancellor Merkel. And his second act would be to go to London to try and convince the British to form a central part of that new European project.

“I think it is true to say the European Union has fallen out of love with its citizens, and the citizens have fallen out of love with the EU.

“Even those of us who voted to stay can see the bureaucracy that has been created in Brussels is not as representative of people as it should be – even though some thought we could change it within, and others have felt it necessary to step outside that club.”

“I think this is a wakeup call. This is the loudest-sounding alarm the EU has ever had on its bedside table. And we all need to listen to that, and understand why citizens across the European Union are not as committed to it as they might have been.”

He paused, smiling, reflecting on whether Brexit might not happen after all.